A wide variety of portable coolers for maintaining beverages in a chilled condition are known. Portable coolers, which are non-electric relying on a previously frozen or chilled medium, are generally effective and are widely used. Nevertheless, there are problems associated with their use including accessibility to stored containers, bulky cooler design, ineffective insulation, difficulty in cleaning and lack of convenience.
The following patents are representative of the general art of insulated beverage containers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,426 shows an insulated beverage container having an outer casing with an interior foam housing. The foam housing is shaped to accommodate at least two conventional beverage containers. Containers of the Blue Ice cold pack type are located above the beverage cans.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,336 shows a portable cooler having a lid and a food compartment. A bottle is filled with water and is frozen. The bottle has opposed, corrugated surfaces with concavities which contact the contained beverages.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,295,345 discloses a reusable container for carrying and cooling beverages defining a plurality of cylindrical compartments. The top section includes a slow-warming, cooling gel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,407 discloses a portable cooler having two molded insulating storage container sections having matching recesses for receiving beverage containers. The sections close over the containers to bring a frozen, removable cold pack into contact with the container. The molded storage containers can be inserted within the pocket of a fabric carrier so that the unit can be hand-held or carried on a belt.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,274 shows a device for cooling beverage containers which has a cooling element in the form of a block or plate-shaped hollow body that is filled with a cooling media.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,250 shows a portable insulated cooling container. The cooling container has a canvas body with an insulating mat of foam or other material on the interior sides of the fabric housing. A coolant material is contained in a hollow, sealed case that encloses a refrigerant such as Blue Ice, the case being scalloped to receive the cans. The coolant material is refrigerated prior to being placed into the compartment of the container.
My prior patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,513, describes a modular beverage cooling system having at least two bottles in positionally joined relationship enclosed in an exterior case and provides significant advantages of convenience and modularity.